Gas prices continue to decline
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Our 167th Year
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W E D N E S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 7, 2 0 2 2
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Alleged cannabis operators could face asset forfeiture, jail time, fines By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A 2012 mural titled “World’s Safest Beach” by John Wullbrandt is seen off Linden Avenue in Carpinteria on Saturday.
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
California could offer $1,000 tax incentives for car-free life for low-income residents By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – California could soon offer a tax incentive to certain households that do not own cars under a bill awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s consideration. Senate Bill 457, which passed the Legislature on the final day of session last week, would offer a $1,000 tax credit per household starting in January 2023 to certain low-income taxpayers who do not own a vehicle. The bill specifies that spouses jointly filing making $60,000 or less and individuals who make $40,000 or less would be qualified for the tax credit. The bill was scaled back in an amendment after an analysis showed a budgetary price tag many lawmakers were unwilling to support. Gov. Newsom’s consideration of the bill will come just weeks after California air regulators announced a requirement to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a move aimed at reducing the Golden State’s greenhouse gas emissions. “As the impacts of climate change are felt across our state, it’s time we more aggressively commit to implementing modes of sustainable transportation,” the bill’s author, Senator Anthony Portantino, said in a statement when the bill passed. “We can invest in the future by
Senate Bill 457, which passed the Legislature on the final day of session last week, would offer a $1,000 tax credit per household starting in January 2023 to certain low-income taxpayers who do not own a vehicle. providing financial incentives for Californians to transition from vehicles to more sustainable options.” The bill was significantly amended in the final days of the legislative session to scale back the scope of the legislation. Initially introduced, the bill proposed a $2,500 tax credit for each family member 16 or older that exceeded the number of registered vehicles, capped at $7,500. Sen. Portantino told The Center Square in June that the original bill was meant to incentivize car-free life and slash greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation accounts for a large share of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory, accounting for 41% of emissions in 2019, according to the California Air Resources Board. Streets for All, an LAbased group that advocates for alternatives to driving, drafted the
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MTD approves rental property development in Eastern Goleta Valley County, other government agencies must also approve project By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
After an extensive requests for qualifications and proposals and negotiating the process, the Metropolitan Transit District board of directors voted unanimously to approve a ground lease agreement with ConAM RE Investments, LLC (ConAm) to jointly develop transit-oriented, multifamily rental housing on MTD’s vacant property on Calle Real in the Eastern Goleta Valley. Based on the project parameters set by MTD, ConAm has proposed a transitoriented development project with approximately 333 residential rental units with not less than 15 percent of the total units affordable to verylow, low-, and moderate-income households. The affordable units will be income-restricted through recorded long-term covenants and integrated throughout the overall project site. The
project will include onsite amenities for the residents and an after-school learning center. The project is adjacent to MTD’s Line 7 route and will provide new transit riders, as well as the opportunity for MTD to expand its operations throughout its service area. The project must be reviewed and approved by the County of Santa Barbara and other government agencies with jurisdiction over the property. “Housing is the biggest crisis facing our community today. We are proud that MTD is able to enter into an agreement with the aim of producing new transitoriented housing supply on our property that is consistent with the County’s Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan, while providing an opportunity for MTD to further expand its transit services in eastern Goleta,” said Dave Davis, MTD’s Board Chair. email: nhartstein@newspress.com
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i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-4 Obituaries............. A4
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original version of the bill in an effort to incentivize Californians to consider getting rid of a vehicle or transition to car-free life. Michael Schneider, founder of Streets for All, told The Center Square that the bill was amended to address the fiscal cost of the incentive program, which could have prevented the bill from passing the Legislature. The original version of the bill would have resulted in General Fund losses of $700 million in fiscal year 2022-2023 and losses of $1.2 billion in subsequent years, according to a bill analysis. Mr. Schneider said the amended version of the bill that Gov. Newsom will consider “doesn’t accomplish our initial goal,” but still has value. He noted that this iteration of the bill likely won’t convince someone to give up their car since there’s an income cap to receive an incentive, but said it could be a start. “I’m hoping this proves to be
an incredibly popular program and that the metrics show that people are interested in being incentivized not to have a car, and then hopefully we can grow the income cap and the overall program budget over time,” Mr. Schneider said, adding that Streets For All would be in support of a future measure to expand incentives and income caps for a car-free life. Other bill supporters are hopeful that, if signed into law, the legislation will provide an incentive for lower-income Californians who already rely on public transportation and do not own a car to maintain a car-free lifestyle. Eli Lipmen, Executive Director of Move LA, told The Center Square that the bill would help individuals who are struggling with the high cost of living, particularly in Southern California. Lipmen cited a 2019 study from LA Metro, which found that 70% of customers have an annual household income less than $35,000 and 81% have an income less than $40,000. “For those who are transitdependent, for whom transit is a lifeline not just the lifestyle, this provides an incredible benefit for continuing that lifestyle,” Mr. Lipmen said. Gov. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto SB 457 and the hundreds of other bills awaiting his consideration.
A pair of alleged North County cannabis operators could face more than $200,000 in asset forfeiture in addition to criminal penalties if convicted of the illegal cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana, prosecutors said. A preliminary hearing for defendants Eli Christopher Sheiman and Mariete Wingard, the so-called Herbal Angels, is scheduled to resume Oct. 12. If a judge finds prosecutors present enough evidence, they will be held over for trial. And if convicted of the charges against them, they will face possible jail time and fines. But they also would face civil asset forfeiture proceedings in which prosecutors will seek to deprive them of more than $202,000 in cash allegedly connected to a December 2019 raid by Sheriff’s cannabis compliance officers on their alleged illegal pot-growing operation west of Buellton. Officers purportedly seized and destroyed 3,000 pounds of dried and frozen cannabis products. “The civil asset forfeiture case is currently stayed pending the criminal case,” Deputy District Attorney Morgan S. Lucas told the News-Press. In their petition for asset forfeiture, prosecutors said
they want to permanently take $180,873 in cash seized by agents of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department on Dec. 16, 2019 near 202 Santa Cruz Ave. in Santa Barbara. Prosecutors also want to take $21,393.06 from Union Bank and $4,152.66 from Wells Fargo Bank that also was seized by sheriff’s officers. The cash, considered the defendants’ property, is currently located at, or under the control of, the Sheriff’s Department. Prosecutors allege that the money came from the illegal cultivation and sale of marijuana. They will ask a civil judge for a judgment and order declaring the money permanently forfeited. The defendants have contested the forfeiture, so the state health and safety code “requires a conviction of the underlying criminal charges for the assets … to be forfeited,” DDA Lucas said. “Those assets are alleged to be proceeds of, or funds used to facilitate illegal drug sales.” The defendants are charged criminally with the illegal cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana. Mr. Sheiman also is charged with perjury for giving an affidavit in which prosecutors said he lied by claiming they were only growing marijuana for medical use.
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 20-24-25-30-35 Mega: 8
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 0-4-7-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 6-17-46-59-68 Mega: 2
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 21-27-29-36-38
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-01-04 Time: 1:48.43
Monday’s POWERBALL: 4-7-32-55-64 Meganumber: 25
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 9-6-3 / Midday 1-8-0